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Local Leader of Mexican Drug Cartel Sentenced to Thirty-One Years for Drug Trafficking & Money Laundering

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justice.gov/usao-edky/pr/l…

Co-Conspirators also convicted and sentenced to federal prison

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ciro Macias Martinez, a citizen of Mexico illegally residing in Georgetown, Kentucky, was sentenced on Friday,

in the U.S. District Court in Lexington by Judge Danny C. Reeves, to serve 31 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Macias, 32, had previously pleaded guilty to both offenses.

In August 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration in Lexington began its investigation of Macias, and multiple other individuals, for their roles in a sophisticated drug trafficking and money laundering organization operating in Central Kentucky,

which was tied to Mexican drug cartels. Macias was the local head of the organization, responsible for distributing kilogram quantities of numerous drugs, including a very pure form of methamphetamine – commonly referred to as “ice” – cocaine, and heroin.

The extensive investigation established that, in addition to distributing kilograms of the drugs, Macias was also responsible for collecting the proceeds and returning the money back to Mexico, to the larger drug trafficking organization.

Macias admitted in his plea agreement that the organization used contract couriers to pick up large sums of bulk cash that constituted the drug proceeds, supporting larger criminal organization’s ongoing drug trafficking activities.

During the investigation, DEA, in conjunction with the Lexington Police Department and the Kentucky State Police, seized and forfeited approximately $1.2 million.

Macias and the larger criminal organization also laundered money through the banking system, by making deposits at multiple banks in increments less than $10,000 per transaction, commonly referred to as “structuring deposits,”

attempting to avoid certain federal and state bank reporting requirements. Several other individuals pleaded guilty to their roles in the money laundering, which involved banks in Tennessee and North Carolina and deposits totaling $100,000 or more on each trip.

Arlenne Sosa, 23, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in federal prison; Laura Ortiz, 23, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years; and Smirna Ortiz, 21, was convicted at trial, in July 2018,

and will be sentenced on November 2, 2018. She faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

The defendants must serve 85% of their respective prison sentences; and upon their release, they will each be under supervision by federal probation officers for additional terms. Macias, after serving his sentence, will face deportation to Mexico.

“Ciro Macias Martinez led a large scale drug trafficking and money laundering cell operating in central Kentucky, and the sentence imposed by the court underscores the severity of his criminal conduct,”

stated Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “Macias and his co-conspirators were responsible for distributing significant quantities of dangerous drugs, making millions of dollars,

and engaging in a sophisticated money laundering scheme to use those ill-gotten proceeds to further their criminal enterprise. I commend the efforts of the law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation, and thank the agents, officers,

and prosecutors for their dedicated service. Without their hard work, Macias and his associates would still be in business and our community less safe.”

United States Attorney Duncan; Darrell Christopher Evans, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Louisville; Lawrence Weathers, Chief of Police, Lexington-Fayette County Division of Police;

and Richard Sanders, Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, jointly made the announcement. Assistant United States Attorney Todd Bradbury represented the United States in the case.